Known for exploring South African food through fresh eyes, Joe’s reaction says it all as he tries deep-fried versions of two local dishes.
Pretoria, South Africa (09 February 2026) – For someone who has made a name for himself by exploring South Africa through fresh eyes, Joe Fleming is no stranger to surprising local flavours. The American-born digital content creator, now based in South Africa, recently added two more items to his growing food discovery list: fried chicken livers and deep-fried biltong.
Known for sharing an outsider’s perspective on South African culture, landscapes and, most notably, food, Joe often leans into the things locals might take for granted. This time, it was the idea of taking familiar favourites and giving them a bold twist. Chicken livers are already a popular comfort dish for many South Africans, but fried? And pairing them with rich sauces and treating them as a snack-style bite was clearly a new experience for him.
As well as fried biltong! Turning the country’s beloved dried meat into something hot, crispy and dunked into sauce is not exactly traditional, but judging by Joe’s reaction it turned out far better than expected.
Here, almost anything can be reimagined, reinvented or in this case… deep fried and somehow still make sense.
Sometimes the most interesting food experiences come from trying something familiar in a completely different way.
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